Suit: Victim hit by BPD officer’s bullet

A Bartlesville woman has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Bartlesville and a police officer involved in a fatal shooting last year.

Trina Brown, the alleged victim in a domestic assault that ended with the suspect dead, filed the lawsuit through attorneys on Oct. 23 in federal court in Tulsa.

According to reports, 36-year-old William Clifford Earl Cole of Copan had assaulted Brown, his former girlfriend prior to the confrontation with police, specifically officer Corey Boyd.

According to the complaint filed by Thomas H. Landrum with The Firm on Baltimore in Tulsa, the suit seeks “not less than $75,000.”

In the allegations, Landrum states that Brown’s boyfriend, Cole, “had physically battered Ms. Brown in her residence and fled the scene.”

“Ms. Brown seeing the police were outside, went to her front porch and made contact with the officers, with one officer already having his gun drawn and at the ready. While she was standing on her front porch, Mr. Cole burst through the front door and tackled Ms. Brown from behind, causing her to tumble forward onto the grass in her front yard,” the suit states.

“Mr Cole proceeded to stand over Ms. Brown’s body and strike her head and shoulders with his closed fist as she lay on the ground. As Mr. Cole was striking Ms. Brown, Officer Ward deployed his Taser on Mr. Cole. The prongs from the Taser lodged in Mr. Cole’s jacket and caused no effect. Officer Boyd moved forward to attempt to push Mr. Cole off of Ms. Brown. As officer Boyd approached him, Mr. Cole punched Officer Boyd in the face.”

The suit alleges that Boyd “loosed a fusillade of bullets in the general direction of Mr. Cole, even though Ms. Brown was lying on the ground, direcly within officer Boyd’s field of fire.”

“One of Officer Boyd’s bullets struck Ms. Brown in the head behind her left ear, traveled down her neck and across her back, finally lodging near her lower spine” the suit states.

“In an effort to hide the negligent and careless use of deady force by Officer Boyd, one of the officers at the scene informed the responding EMSA workers that Ms. Brown had been stabbed behind her ear, rather than explaining she had been shot by one of Officer Boyd’s barrage of bullets,” according to the suit.

The suit contends the city “failed to train Officer Boyd on proper use of deadly weapons, proper use of Tasers, and protection of innnocent citizens.”

“Ms. Brown has suffered severe injury and loss, including pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other expenses,” according to the suit.

“Further Ms. Brown cannot pursue her chosen career in nursing due to the trauma and memory issues caused by this incident,” he said. “Our agency can’t comment on any pending lawsuit. If any comment is made it would have to come through attorneys representing the city,” said Bartlesville Police Capt. Jay Hastings. “Keep in mind that the OSBI is the agency that handled that investigation.”

When contacted on the matter, Brown’s attorney Landrum declined to comment.

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